im muslim and i have a question. an example in islam a muslim must read quran , tafsir(quran commentary) , fiqh (islamic law) , aqeedah (belief) etc. books to be alim , sheikh.
So what about christianity , which books made you more proffesional at christianity other than bible? what you reading for be priest
Posted May 18, 2022, 5:02 PM UTC
Many Christian theologians study the works of the Church Fathers, from Iranneus to Thomas Aquinas.
great , thank you. btw we learned Thomas Aquinas , William from Ockham and anselmus in philosophy lesson at highschool . thoughts on them?
Thomas Aquinas and Anselm are both officially Saints and Doctors (teachers) of the Church, which means that the Church sees their teaching as having value for all Christians always and everywhere. Ockham, on the other hand, is neither a Saint nor a Doctor of the Church. In fact, his teaching has been blamed for serious errors both in Christianity and in the West in general, broadly understood as "nominalism".
Hello.
Analagous to the Qur'an is the Bible.
Analagous to the ahadith are the Church Fathers, who convey the oral teachings of Christianity that mostly didn't make it in the Bible. Althought the Church Fathers don't convey anything else Christ said -- they are more comparable to narrations from the Sahaba and first other few generations of Muslims.
Analagous to the books of fiqh are documents of canon law. Canon law really just means "Church Law".
I am a layman but I study all 3. It is valuable for Christians to have knowledge of all 3, but in terms of application canon law is really only applied by priests (and especially bishops) -- however laymen can become canon layers, which is analagous to Islamic jurists. Mostly they are dealing with things like marriage annulment cases, as well as money, property, borders of the diocese and parishes, and penal tribunals for a diocese.
In the Bible Jesus institutes a priesthood with authority, and the Code of Canon Law and Code of Eastern Churches are the 2 main documents of canon law that goes into the more specific authoritative questions not answered by the Bible or Church Fathers. For example: can green grapes be used to make the wine that will be consecrated for the Eucharist? (Fun fact: yes)
Priests will study these (and more) in seminary.
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If you read “Imitation of Christ” it will change your life.
The Church Fathers, the Doctors of the Church (especially Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure), the Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, and the (current) Code of Canon Law would make one "more professional" at Christianity.